Transmuting Pain Into Art
Inspired by the phenomenon of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Tiffany Dawn Hasse makes it a mission to prolifically use her words to articulate her experience of having OCD, coupled with a tic disorder.
“I want to make an impact on people respectfully, through being a true authentic artisan,” Tiffany says, “I want my poetry to reflect a quick-witted mind of substance- of reckless truth with the human experience. I want my art to move people, to allow them to identify with the pain within themselves, so that this pain can be transmuted into their most grandeur asset: self-empowerment. I want to allow my audience a moment of inward contemplation, inquiry, and reflection to ask themselves what really matters.”
For this wordsmith, she speaks with the intent of connecting one-on-one with audience members. “What matters most is connecting with the individual,” says Tiffany, “if I can influence even a single individual who can benefit from my art form, my message is a success.”
Tiffany has a love of poetry and adamantly admits that she would probably never have started writing if she wasn’t tormented by her OCD and her need to make things feel “just right.”
Originally debuting at Avanti Cafe in 2012, Tiffany has also stepped up to the mic at the SOBECA art walk of Costa Mesa, Viento y Agua, Au Lac, Rebel Bite, UCLA, The CALB Alliance, The Mirage Cafe, 2nd Saturday Art Walk in Long Beach, filmed and performed at the Hellada Art Gallery, aired multiple times on the Pic N Purple KTST FM radio show, and recently spewed verses as a special guest performer at Sev Ven gallery in Huntington Beach. While she admits that she has studied historical poets but little, Tiffany has been inspired by contemporary artists today such as Rachel Kann, Eminem, Aesop Rock, Saul Williams, Atmosphere, Yelawolf and Eyedea and Abilities, with what she coins their ability to make words “syntact-fully” dance off their tongues.
Favorite Quote: “I am not my mind…and my body is only an arbitrary design inclined to lead me to deceitfully believe that it too is me.” -TDHasse